In 2011, Rockstar Games released the very first trailer of what we now know as Grand Theft Auto V. As soon as the first trailer popped up, it created a global flurry of hype around the then-unreleased game and motivated gamers to start mapping out the GTA V world. Jump to 2022, and we’re seeing the same thing happening again with GTA 6, except, in this case, the reference material that mappers are using are leaked images and video footage.
Note: We’ve covered the leak ad nauseum, but feel free to catch up on some features we spotted in the GTA 6 leaked footage.
However, since Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games are such sticklers for the rule of not using leaked content – as modders will very well know – these cartographers in training cannot simply paste leaked images on a blank page and call it a map. Some will know this better than others, as this was a strategy that some earlier mappers employed on various GTA forums. This particular action led to the mappers’ hard work being taken down.
Instead, mappers have taken numerous precautions to ensure that anything they use is not subject to the intense DMCA takedowns that Take-Two Interactive is currently pursuing or the community guidelines or sensibilities of GTA forums and their moderators.
Mappers are going so far as to make crude recreations of various scenes depicted in the GTA 6 leaks – which Rockstar have confirmed are legit – so that their images don’t set off any alarms or put up any red flags. But it isn’t just mappers who are getting involved with this project, though.
Aside from the people creating the actual maps and those determining locations’ relations to one another – something possible with the use of Rockstar’s own game engine measurements – there are also individuals contributing native knowledge of Miami and Florida so that the map is as true to both locations as we expect Rockstar is making it.
We saw a similar community project with the development of the GTA V map – which was almost identical to the game’s official map upon release. However, it’s pertinent to note that the version of GTA VI that was leaked is a very early build. Thus, the entire game is still subject to change – including the map.
With the GTA V map, we saw numerous changes being made to the community-made concept as more details were released on official channels. It’s likely that this map will evolve in the same way until the game is officially released.
Next up: In the wake of the massive leak, one ignorant comment has united the wider developer community in solidarity behind GTA 6.